He wouldn’t have been Oakville’s first baby of 2013 if everything had gone as planned.

The eight pound, five ounce baby boy, who has yet to be given a first name, was born at the Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) at 6:18 a.m. on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1) to first-time parents Adanna and Sean Francis of Milton.

The couple had been planning to use the services of a midwife for a water birth in their home, but changed their minds when Adanna’s labour pains intensified.

“I was in labour from Thursday (Dec. 27, 2012) and it was just dragging out too long and the pain just became unbearable, so we made a decision to go to Oakville,” she said.

“It wasn’t an emergency, I just wanted more pain relief, but by the time I got there I was nine centimetres dilated, so pain relief wasn’t an option.”

Adanna said she and Sean arrived at OTMH at around 4 a.m., with their baby making his appearance a short time later.

Despite the extensive period of labour, Adanna said she is recovering and noted the pain was worth it to get a healthy and happy baby boy.

Baby Francis wasn’t too late as Adanna’s scheduled due date was Dec. 29.

Her water broke a few minutes before midnight on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31).

Mother and baby are now resting comfortably at home in Milton where Sean and Adanna are adjusting to their new lives as parents.

“It’s exciting. We just got married last year and we just moved to Milton, so it’s a lot of new beginnings for the both of us,” Adanna said.

“Being a parent adds to this list of new things, so we’re just embracing it along with everything else this year. We’re so excited.”

Adanna said the couple didn’t find out about the baby’s gender beforehand, stating they wanted it to be a surprise and that at the end of the day, all they wanted was a healthy baby.

That said, Adanna was convinced the baby was a boy while Sean was sure it was a girl.

“I guess I won that one,” she said.

As a result of not finding out the gender ahead of time, the couple has yet to zero in on a name for the child, although ‘Noah’ is the frontrunner, said Adanna.

Sean, who works as a master electrician, and Adanna, who works for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), said they weren’t expecting their baby to be Oakville’s first infant born in 2013, but are happy it turned out that way.

“I never thought he would be born Jan. 1. It’s exciting, it’s another first,” said Adanna.

“It makes it that much more special. It’s like the Region of Halton and Oakville have welcomed him. That’s how I’m taking it. It’s really nice.”